The prophetic events found in The Book of Daniel and in The Revelation of John are of great interest to students of scripture, and every Christian denomination has placed their own interpretations upon them. Many have been rather sound in their explanation, while still leaving room for uncertainty. This work does not represent the views of any particular religion, and the facts may be far different than commonly considered.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Part 2:
Daniel Sealed Until the Time of the End

The prophecies of Daniel and those of John the Revelator have probably been the most studied of all biblical prophecies; with those found in Revelation seeming to be a continuation of Daniel’s prophecies. One of the difficulties in understanding both Daniel and John is that the prophecies found in Daniel have been sealed until the “time of the end,” which helps hinder the understanding of those found in John’s Revelation.

Daniel 12:4: “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”

Daniel 12:8-9: “And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.”

So even though there has been great speculation upon Daniel’s prophecies, the actual meaning of them was not to be understood until the “time of the end,” at that time “knowledge shall be increased” concerning those things.

However, John’s Revelation was not sealed, for John was told in Chapter 22 verse ten: “And he [the Angel] saith unto me [John], Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.” One of the reasons that John’s prophecies have been difficult for many to understand is because it is linked to Daniel’s prophecies which were sealed. So without an understanding of Daniel, there is difficulty understanding John.

So the question is, When is the “time of the end”? Hopefully, that question will be answered as we consider what follows.